


Brainstorming

by trixiechick



Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, M/M, gossiping, mistletoe kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-30
Updated: 2013-04-30
Packaged: 2017-12-10 00:10:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/779555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixiechick/pseuds/trixiechick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Our Protagonist pitches her ideas to her head editor, inspired by the Emerald Editing staff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brainstorming

**Author's Note:**

> written for my [trope bingo card](http://butterflychase.livejournal.com/78660.html), **mistletoe kiss** and **accidental baby acquisition** in one. if i could draw, this would have been amazingly better, but with my limitations, this format was the best i could do. the next time i write a fic with a metric @#! &-ton of html formatting, may god please let me figure out how to format it _first_ , so i don't have to change all the formatting _afterward_. again. and then REformat it for AO3, sighs.
> 
> ETA: actually, the formatting for AO3 was never quite right. but, i've finally gotten it up on my site, so if you would please [read it there where the formatting works](http://www.offpanel.net/chick/stories/brainstorming.html), it would be a better experience for you and me, thank you.

**COFFE SHOP**  
There are six tables spread across the stage, and a counter on stage right. There are two GIRLS behind the counter in blue t-shirts and aprons, looking massively bored, gossiping. There are occasional CUSTOMERS, but only one table is occupied. PROTAGONIST sits in the table just off-center, looking around nervously. She's a mess; wearing sweats, her hair is tied in braids with a bandana to keep her bangs out of her face, wearing thick glasses. No one would guess she's a wildly popular BL mangaka. There are three cups of coffee on her table, as well as two notebooks and a sketchbook. Nervously, she sketches just about everything she sees, apparently a habit. MAN walks in and goes to the counter, and she sketches him with extra enthusiasm.

  
  
ENTER Stylish SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
I see some things never change.

  
  
SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR sits down at PROTAGONIST'S table, carelessly pushing aside some notebooks to make room for herself.  
  
PROTAGONIST jumps in her chair.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
H-h-h-h-h-h-h-head editor!!! I was just...!

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
Picturing that guy naked with another guy in between his  
legs?

  
  
SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR leans over to examine PROTAGONIST'S sketch, clearly approving.  
  
PROTAGONIST quickly piles her sketches together.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Head editor, thank you so much for inviting me to the  
Emerald Christmas Party. ...Do they always hold it in April?

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
You know how crazy it is right at the end of the year. There's no  
time for editors to celebrate _then_. I don't know why they  
do it in April, though. I think it was Kisa's idea...

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Well, you were absolutely right. I just sat in a corner of the  
breakroom with my notebooks, and I got _plenty_ of  
inspiration!

  
  
PROTAGONIST shuffles through her notebooks, trying not to reveal anything to the SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(whimsically)  
I love the Emerald staff, and having them on the same floor  
as us... no one writing for me needs to _ever_ go long without  
inspiration.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Ah ha! Here! Ok, so first there was this. This man came in  
with a woman, he was holding a child. At first, I thought  
they were a family, but then she kept apologizing for  
bringing her son and he told her that it was fine and he'd  
watch the boy for the night, so she could just enjoy herself.  
Maybe she was a secretary?

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
Did you draw her?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
No, I was trying to sketch him with the baby. I didn't have  
time to sketch her, too.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
Well, we all have to make choices.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
After she left, he stayed in the breakroom to give the baby a  
bottle, and he was just... oh, _so_ dreamy and _nuturing!_

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
_This_ guy? The one in _this_ sketch?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Yes! Tall, dark... _handsome_... good with children....

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
_This_ guy?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Yes! Does that seem strange?

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
If you'd ever seen him at a deadline... then, yes, it would  
seem _very_ strange. You drew him with the baby very well,  
though.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Oh, he was just... just so...

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(flatly)  
Dreamy.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Is something wrong? You know him, right? Is he...

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
I just think it's a crime against nature for a mangaka to be  
mooning over a guy like that. But you wouldn't be the first.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Anyway, the best part comes next... See, a few minutes later,  
this really frantic guy came in... Here...

  
  
PROTAGONIST turns a few pages and shows SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
And it was hilarious. Tall, dark, and dreamy handed him the  
baby and said, see, I wrote it here, _Ritsu. Excellent news. We  
were approved for adoption!_

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(laughing)  
Wait... he said... He called him _Ritsu?_

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
And then...! He just walked off, and he left that Ritsu with  
the baby! And he was sputtering... socutely!! _Ta-ta-ta-ta-  
ta-ta-TAKANO-SAAAAAAAN!_  
(giggles uncontrollably)

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
Oh, my god, he's even more sadistic than I thought!  
(leans over to get better view of sketch)  
I never really gave the newbie a passing glance. I might have  
to look him over more carefully. Now that I think about it,  
there was some kind of story about them sleeping together on  
a business trip.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Ooh!

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
So your next work is going to be a massive S seme and his M  
uke raising a child?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Well, that was just the first couple! The M ran off after tall,  
dark, and S-y, and I was alone. But then!!

  
  
PROTAGONIST flips through notebook pages excitedly.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Then _these_ two showed up!

  
  
PROTAGONIST shows off a sketch proudly.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
Don't you think you overdid this one a bit? It's a great  
character design, but all the sparkles and flowers around him  
are a bit...

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
No, that's completely accurate! I swear, he was followed by  
hearts and flowers and sparkles at all times! I think there  
were sunbeams on him at all times, too!

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(frowning)  
Didn't the party start at like 8 o'clock?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
I know!! So gorgeous!

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
Stop stroking your own sketch. That's weird.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Sorry. He came in following this guy...

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
Ah! My personal favorite source of inspiration for BL  
fantasies!

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
He was really nervous about anyone seeing them, but I guess  
I was tucked away neatly in the corner. In... visible...

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(smiling, kind)  
Don't let it get to you. If you'd been seen, you wouldn't have  
been able to get all this good stuff.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
(smiling bravely)  
That's true. And it really _was_ good stuff. First, they were  
talking about what Gorgeous was even doing there, you don't  
work for Marukawa, etc, etc. Turns out, he helped out a sales  
guy a lot at some book signing? And maybe he's being  
recruited? So anyway, he's there at the sales guy's invite, so  
Cute 'n' Sexy

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(giggles)

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
says that they have to keep their distance from each other, he  
works here, can't cause suspicion, all that, and Gorgeous  
starts whining, just like a large dog! People already know  
they know each other, he argues, and what's wrong with two  
colleagues enjoying a party together. And then Gorgeous mentioned  
that he saw mistletoe hung up somewhere, and  
Cute 'n' Sexy ran off.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(laughing, enjoying herself)  
Kisa... with Mr. Too Good-Looking To Be Real... Oh, I _love_  
this idea! Older, smaller, cute uke with gorgeous, puppyish  
seme... There's a _lot_ of directions this one could go!

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
But that's not even it! There's _another_ couple!

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(disbelieving)  
A third couple?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Yes! Here...

  
  
PROTAGONIST shuffles through notebook, finds page, shows to SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
See, this one came in first, leading this one by the hand. The  
smaller one was complaining the whole time, and the tall,  
cool one wasn't really reacting. The small one apparently had  
a cut on his knee somehow? Anyway, the tall one put him up  
on the counter like a child and got down on a knee to dress  
his wound! ...Which totally was no big deal, anyway.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(smiling, knowing)  
Ahhh, I see. A childish prince uke and a cool, mature seme...  
yes, that's very nice.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
But then the child prince said something about what he was  
doing last week, and the cool guy got all annoyed, saying  
something about his deadline, so it was like... the cool guy  
was the editor and the prince kid was the mangaka?!?

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(snickering)  
Getting you into that party was the best idea I ever had...

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
The prince kid ran off trying to avoid the cool guy, who was  
tailing him _realllllly_ closely.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
So, you're pitching me three different scenarios... Any  
feelings on which will be your next title?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Wait, there's more! After that, I started to compile ideas, but  
then the first uke with the baby came in, and he was being  
really motherly, even saying things like _Papa won't abandon  
us, he's just doing his work, don't worry, son!_ And he  
changed the baby's diaper! He was pretty clumsy about  
everything, but all in all, I'd say he adjusted to the idea of  
having a child with tall, dark, and dreamy pretty well in a  
short period of time. But then tall, dark, and dreamy came in  
with the baby's mother, and he tried to get Ritsu to give him  
back, and Ritsu ran off with the child crying! And tall, dark,  
and dreamy called him an idiot and went after him. I think  
the mother had had plenty to drink, because she just seemed  
amused by it all.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(dryly)  
Or she was just used to Takano, after all.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
That was _super_ hilarious, so I started to draw up some  
storyboards for _that_ scene, but then Cute 'n' Sexy came back  
in, grumbling and complaining, followed by the Gorgeous  
Puppy. And Gorgeous was all... here, I drew it, see? He kept  
telling Cute 'n' Sexy not to be mad, he just couldn't help  
calling someone cute when they were cute. And Cute 'n'  
Sexy said that everyone would think they were weird if he  
kept gushing like that. And then! Gorgeous said he'd leave  
Cute 'n' Sexy alone... if Cute 'n' Sexy let him have a mistletoe  
kiss!

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(excited)  
Oh, I can just _imagine_ Kisa's reaction to _that!_

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
(giggling)  
I know, he was so cutely mad! He said absolutely no  
way, no way, no way! But Gorgeous backed him into a corner... see? I  
drew it. And he held the mistletoe over Cute 'n' Sexy's head.  
And so Cute 'n' Sexy pouted... _really cutely_... and then he  
sighed like he was super put out and said _Fine, whatever! But  
you promised! Leave me alone after this!_ And then they  
kissed!

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(eagerly)  
Did you take video?!?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
It all happened so fast! At first, it was just a sweet little kiss.  
But that only lasted about twenty seconds. Then, Gorgeous  
had his hands in _places_ and Cute 'n' Sexy moaned _really_  
sexily, and it almost seemed like they were going to just _do it_  
right there on the breakroom floor!

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(grabbing PROTAGONIST by collar)  
My _god_ , woman, why didn't you take video or at least  
pictures?!?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
(shaken but still happy)  
Just when it was _really_ getting hot, there were voices outside  
the breakroom, and Cute 'n' Sexy shoved Gorgeous off. And  
Cute 'n' Sexy called him an idiot, but he didn't sound too  
convincing, and so Gorgeous said, _Let's go home_ , and they  
left.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(breathless)  
You think they're living together?!

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
(dreamily)  
In my head, they are.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(slumping back in chair)  
This is the best brainstorming session I've ever been a part  
of. Ever.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Took me a minute to get my head together, and then I started  
to furiously sketch everything I saw, as quickly as possible.  
Before I forgot and everything.

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(surging forward)  
Let me see!

  
  
PROTAGONIST hands SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR a notebook, pointing to a part of a page, smiling. SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR quickly starts poring over the pages, eagerly flipping back and forth and grinning like a maniac.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
I didn't get to finish, though, before the childish prince and  
his editor-slash-valet showed up and...

  
  
SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR tears out a page of the notebook, shoving it into her purse, ignoring the objection of the PROTAGONIST.

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
Hey!

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
This has been _fantastic_ , but let's get back to point. Have you  
decided on what kind of story you want to do, then? An  
S-type seme and M-type uke with a baby, an older, cuter uke  
with a younger, gorgeouser seme who are sex fiends, or the  
childish prince and his dutiful servant who have reverse  
work roles?

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
(moaning)  
I can't decide! They're all so delicious! I was kind of  
thinking... well... what if...  
(hopefully)  
I did a story about a manga editing staff... and their love  
lives... and just used all three?

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
.........  
(pondering hard)  
.........Well...

  
  


PROTAGONIST

  
(eager, pleading)  
There are a lot of series with large casts and multiple  
couples, after all. Doesn't that give the fans more to work  
with? Like, everyone can have their own favorites??

  
  


SAPPHIRE HEAD EDITOR

  
(slowly)  
True...  
(deciding)  
This could work. But just in case, we should change a few details. I do have to work on  
the same floor with these guys,  
after all.

  
  
 **END SCENE**


End file.
